'Just as we reach back to our ancestors for our fundamental values, so we, as guardians of that legacy, must plan ahead for the future of our children and their children'.

To continually take from the sea without giving anything back would be wrong on so many levels. Fishing is a way of life and one that we at Island Fish want to see continue into the future as much as anyone. To achieve this we must look after and tend the sea in much the same way as a farmer looks after the landscape.

We work hard to make sure that the effect we have on the marine environment is as modest as possible by using low impact methods of fishing, practicing conservation techniques, by working with scientists to better understand fish stocks and patterns of migration, and by proactively helping to put lobsters back in the sea via our work with the National Lobster Hatchery at Padstow.

We are also working to launch the 'Fishing for Litter' initiative in Scilly, which quite simply means that our boats have committed to bringing ashore whatever marine litter they may find for appropriate disposal by the relevant authorities.

Method of Fishing

We use targeted fishing methods to ensure that we catch only what we want to catch without any bycatch. For example we catch our lobsters & crabs in 'pots' which tend not to attract anything other than shellfish. Any shellfish that are undersize simply have free bed & breakfast for the night before being returned to the sea the next day.

All of our mackerel & pollock are caught via hand lines that are specifically rigged to target these species only, ensuring zero bycatch.

Checking lobsters to see if they are 'size'

Conservation

All lobsters landed in Scilly has to have a minimum carapace size of 90mm, 3mm bigger than the national average. when caught berried hen lobsters are marked with a 'V' which signifies that they cannot be landed meaning that they are free to breed for at least 3/4 years.

Measures such as these have helped to ensure that the stocks of lobsters & crabs around Scillonian waters have remained strong. Mike, the skipper of the Emerald Dawn has kept a log of every days catch since 1972, In his view lobster stocks have remained pretty much stable and indeed have rallied over the last few years.

Mark tagging & collecting data on a juvenile CrTagging Crawfish

Along with other Scillonian fisherman Island Fish is supporting a programme of tagging undersize lobsters & crawfish in order to help better understand their movements and learn more about the current state of the species. Island Fish has also committed to release any berried crawfish that we might catch in order to help strengthen stocks.

As part of a joint partnership with the Isles of Scilly Inshore Conservation Agency both Mike and Mark tag, release and record data relating to sex, location caught and location released of all undersized crawfish and all female berried crawfish. This two year study will when complete provide one of the most complete pictures of the movement of UK Crawfish.

Buy One Release One Scheme

Island Fish Ltd is extremely proud to be the only business in Scilly that has signed up to theBuy One Release One Schemerun by the National Lobster Hatchery at Padstow. This means that for every lobster order we receive £1 is donated to the hatchery to support the release of juvenile lobsters into the wild - so you can purchase lobsters from Island Fish Ltd in the knowledge that you are helping to restock Cornwall & Scilly with the next generation of lobsters.

Island Fish Ltd has committed to donating a minimum of £500 to the hatchery every year.

Fishing for Litter

Fishing for litter is a simple but imaginative scheme that involves fishing boats gathering up any marine litter that they might find before bringing ashore for disposal by the relevant authorities. Island Fish is looking to sign up to the initiative and will during 2016 be on the look out for any marine debris around our islands.

What's more the team at Island Fish have committed to picking up litter from the beaches of Bryher at least once a month, It must be said that this is no great hardship as every member of the family regularly scours the beach to see what has been washed up - only now we will be picking up all marine debris, rather than just the useful bits!

​What's more in an effort to reduce the volume of plastic that makes its way into the sea in the first instance Island Fish has stopped selling plastic water bottles and has instead committed to refilling water bottles upon request.

Island Fish has also taken the lead on the annual island wide beach clean which takes place every year just before the start of the season - just about everyone on the island joins in making this a real community event